Customizable situational awareness dashboard and alerts, and associated systems and methods

ABSTRACT

A customizable situational awareness system is described that allows a user to customize the type of information that the user receives through a user interface, e.g., a dashboard, displayed by the system. In particular embodiments, the system can allow the user to configure alerts that are sent to the user&#39;s mobile or other device based on situational awareness events. In further embodiments, the customizable situational awareness system receives user configuration data related to flight events, maintenance events, and alerts. When the system receives situational awareness data, the system can retrieve the user&#39;s configuration data and display the situational awareness data based on the user&#39;s configuration data. Thus, aspects of the customizable situational awareness system allow the user to access information that is more relevant to the user and to filter out less relevant information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a divisional application of U.S. applicationSer. No. 11/935,369, filed Nov. 5, 2007; said application claiming thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/857,469, entitled“Systems and Methods for Gate Situational Awareness, Flight Following,and Alerting,” filed Nov. 6, 2006, all of which are incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to customizable situationalawareness dashboards and alerts, and associated systems and methods.

BACKGROUND

In 2005, airlines moved nearly five million people over 40 million milesevery day. Conventional airlines, however, do not make optimal use oftheir aircraft and personnel. For example, airlines generally do notcapitalize on existing information residing in various systems becauseeach system solves a niche problem. By understanding the interrelatedfactors (e.g., weather, unscheduled equipment maintenance, late airplanearrivals, late passengers, crew shortages, aircraft loading, regulatoryauthority practices, etc.) that can delay an aircraft turn at a gate ofan airport, situational awareness of actual events in relation to theflight schedule can provide information to maximize profits. Situationalawareness communications are not limited to gathering and presentingdata from a plurality of aircraft systems when the aircraft is in theair, but also includes gathering data when the aircraft is on theground. Situational awareness communication is generally bidirectional.

Situational awareness is a term that may be used to refer to the degreeof accuracy by which one's perception of his/her current environmentmirrors reality. It is the ability to identify, process, and comprehendthe critical elements of information about what is happening in aperson's respective environment based on a mission, for example, airlineoperations. More simply, situational awareness refers generally to one'sknowledge what is going on around one. Different groups of people anddifferent people within a group need different information to be awareof different aspects of a situation in order to determine a properresolution to the situation. When an enterprise loses situationalawareness, there is increased potential for human error and othermishaps.

Situational awareness in the context of airline operations hastraditionally been confined to ground based systems with ground-basedpresentation to ground based users. Increasingly sophisticated on-boardautomated aircraft systems and aircraft communication systems providethe opportunity for the aircraft, whether in the air or on the ground tobe in communication in real time with systems on the ground. Forexample, airline, airport station, maintenance operations, and businessfunctions have traditionally been complex, and characterized by failuresin situational awareness. In the future, these airline operations willbe even more complex because more information will be available from theaircraft to make decisions. Accordingly, there is a need for enhancedsituational awareness systems for airline operations.

SUMMARY

A drawback associated with at least some of the foregoing systems isthat the user is often faced with too much information to take timelyand effective action.

One embodiment described herein is an aircraft situational awarenesssystem. The system includes a plurality of airline enterprise systems.The system also includes an integration system coupled to the pluralityof enterprise systems and configured to receive data relating toaircraft situational awareness from the enterprise systems. The systemalso includes a decision support system coupled to the integrationsystem and configured to correlate situational information received fromone or more of the enterprise systems with one or more business rulesreceived from the integration system. The decision support system isfurther configured to generate an aircraft situational awareness dataset from the correlated data and process the aircraft situationalawareness data set in view of one or more user profiles. The system alsoincludes a user interface coupled to the integration system and thedecision support system, the user interface being configured to displaya view of the aircraft situational awareness data set based, at least inpart, on the one or more user-modifiable user profiles.

Another embodiment described herein is a method for providing anenterprise with situational awareness data for conditions related toaircraft departure. The method receives data from a plurality of airlineenterprise systems related to one or more events that can affectconditions related to an aircraft's departure. The method correlates thereceived data in accordance with one or more business rules. The methodgenerates an aircraft departure situational awareness data set from thecorrelated data and processing the aircraft departure situationalawareness data set in view of one or more user profiles. Then, themethod displays a view of the aircraft situational awareness data set toa user based, at least in part, on the user profile associated with theuser.

Another embodiment described herein is a computer-readable storagemedium encoded with instructions for controlling a computer system toreceive customizations to a displayable view of aircraft situationalawareness data, by a method. The method receives a request from a userto view customization options for customizing the displayable view ofthe aircraft situational awareness data. The method displays acustomization user interface having options for configuring the displayof at least flight events, maintenance events, and alert messages. Themethod receives one or more preference selections from the user based onthe displayed options. The method stores the preference selectionsreceived from the user in a nonvolatile storage device. Then, the methoddisplays a situational awareness dashboard based on the storedpreference selections of the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates components of a customizablesituational awareness system and related systems in one embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates the process of collectingsituational awareness data in one embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a display diagram of a situational awareness dashboard of thecustomizable situational awareness system configured in accordance withone embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates the processing of acustomization component when the user customizes the dashboard in oneembodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 5A-5E are display diagrams that illustrate tabs of a userinterface for receiving customizations from a user in one embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that illustrates the process performed by analert component when new alert data is received in one embodiment of thedisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview

A customizable situational awareness system is described that allows auser to customize the type of information that the user receives througha user interface, called a dashboard, displayed by the system. Inparticular embodiments, the system allows the user to configure alertsthat are sent to the user's mobile device based on situational awarenessevents. The customizable situational awareness system can receive userconfiguration data related to flight events, maintenance events, andalerts. For example, the user may indicate the specific aircraft forwhich the user is interested in viewing situational awarenessinformation. When the system receives situational awareness data, thesystem can retrieve the user's configuration data and display thesituational awareness data based on the user's configuration data. Thus,embodiments of the customizable situational awareness system can allowthe user to easily access the information considered by the user to bemore important information, and to filter out less relevant information.In this way, the user can take timely and effective action based on thereceived information.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates components of arepresentative customizable situational awareness system 100 and relatedsystems in one embodiment. The system 100 can include a first aviationenterprise system 110, a second aviation enterprise system 112, and anintegration broker system 120 operatively coupled to the aviationenterprise systems 110 and 112. The first and second aviation enterprisesystems 110 and 112 are systems that monitor aspects of airlineoperation, such as air traffic, maintenance plans, or various otheraspects as described above. Although only two aviation enterprisesystems are illustrated in FIG. 1, it should be understood that thesystem 100 can include more than two aviation enterprise systems coupledto the integration broker system 120.

The system 100 can also include a decision support system 130 operablycoupled to the integration broker system 120. The decision supportsystem 130 retrieves information related to situations of which varioususers are to be advised. For example, the decision support system 130can include a set of data parameters that define data of whichindividuals need to be aware and such data are continuously pulled fromthe respective aviation enterprise systems 110 and 112 via theintegration broker system 120. The integration broker system 120accordingly provides a conduit through which situational awarenessrequests/retrievals are passed to the decision support system 130. Theretrieved data can be correlated with one or more business rules (e.g.,rules defined by an entity controlling how data are interpreted). Forexample, the failure rate of an aircraft component and the speed withwhich it is repaired may differ between two airline companies based onthe priority each airline places on replacement of the failed component.The priority and interpretation of an event or situation may vary fromairline to airline based on business rules and the manner in which dataare interpreted by the business rules. The data can be further processedin view of historical data retrieved by the decision support system 130and/or other selected parameters.

The decision support system 130 is configured to transmit thesituational awareness data to a customizable situational awarenesssystem 140 that further processes the situational awareness data in viewof the user profiles of the individual users networked to the system.The customizable situational awareness system includes a receivesituational data component 142, a consolidate events component 144, auser customization component 146, a generate alerts component 148, and adisplay interface component 149. The receive situational data component142 receives situational data such as updates regarding the status of anaircraft, maintenance schedules, conditions in the air and on theground, and so on. The consolidate events component 144 consolidates thereceived situational data into a form useful for taking action orunderstanding the situational data. For example, the consolidate eventscomponent may identify a specific maintenance procedure that should beperformed based on several received out-of-specification sensor values.The user customization component 146 receives user customizationsindicating how the user wants to receive the consolidated event data.The generate alerts component 148 generates alerts to a user (e.g.,through the user's mobile device) based on the user's preferences. Thedisplay interface component 149 displays the dashboard user interfacebased on the user's preferences. In some embodiments, the display ordashboard is part of a web portal application accessible through a webbrowser through which the user can perform many functions related toaircraft. One example is the MyBoeingFleet web portal, which providesaircraft data to registered users.

The profile of a respective user determines the data presented to theuser concerning situational awareness. In this way, the customizablesituational awareness system 140 presents the situational awareness datain manner that is optimized or at least tailored in accordance with eachuser's preferences for viewing such data. Users of the system 100 mayview the situational awareness data presented to the customizablesituational awareness system 140 via a user workstation 150 (e.g., apersonal computer or terminal) and/or a mobile device 152 (e.g., a PDA,handheld computer, or the like).

The computing device on which the system is implemented may include acentral processing unit, memory, input devices (e.g., keyboard andpointing devices), output devices (e.g., display devices), and storagedevices (e.g., disk drives). The memory and storage devices arecomputer-readable media that may be encoded with computer-executableinstructions that implement the system, which means a computer-readablemedium that contains the instructions. In addition, the data structuresand message structures may be stored or transmitted via a datatransmission medium, such as a signal on a communication link. Variouscommunication links may be used, such as the Internet, a local areanetwork, a wide area network, a point-to-point dial-up connection, acell phone network, and so on.

Embodiments of the system may be implemented in various operatingenvironments that include personal computers, server computers, handheldor laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems,programmable consumer electronics, digital cameras, network PCs,minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environmentsthat include any of the above systems or devices, and so on. Thecomputer systems may be cell phones, personal digital assistants, smartphones, personal computers, programmable consumer electronics, digitalcameras, and so on.

The system may be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, executed byone or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modulesinclude routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may becombined or distributed as desired in various embodiments

Receiving Situational Awareness Data

Information related to situational awareness can be received from avariety of devices and systems. These devices and systems can beinstalled in aircraft, airport equipment, and/or other locations. Oneexample of a device for providing situational awareness data is aTerminal Wireless LAN Unit (TWLU) installed into an airplane. TheTerminal Wireless LAN Unit collects information on the aircraft andtransmits the information to personnel on the ground using airportnetwork infrastructure. Personnel can connect to the plane via theairport network or even over the Internet.

Another example of a device for providing situational awareness data isa Crew Wireless LAN Unit (CWLU) that allows personnel to connect to theplane directly. The Crew Wireless LAN Unit allows wireless access to theplane even when no airport infrastructure exists. The AutomatedCommunication Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), a digitaldatalink system for transmission of small messages between aircraft andground stations via radio or satellite, can also be used to send andreceive aircraft data. Numerous sensors and equipment on the plane maycollect the data that is later made available. For example, RadioFrequency Identification (RFID) Tags track hardware and softwareconfiguration of the airplane and an Electronic Logbook digitallycaptures log reports and integrates with ground systems.

In a typical embodiment, the airplane collects situational data that istransmitted to the airplane manufacturer. The airplane manufacturerconsolidates the information to produce useful knowledge about theairplane. Then, the airplane manufacturer shares this information withthose responsible for the operation of the airplane, such as customers,lessors, MROs (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul organizations or repairfacilities), suppliers, and regulatory agencies.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates the process of collectingsituational awareness data in one embodiment. An airplane 210 containsone or more situational awareness data collection devices, such as aTWLU 220 and a CWLU 230. The situational awareness devices transmitsituational awareness data over a network such as the Internet 240,while the plane is in flight or on the ground, to an airport 250 ordirectly to maintenance personnel 260. The maintenance personnel 260 canthen prepare for any needed repairs before the plane arrives at theairport 250 to turn the airplane 210 around for the next flight morequickly.

Display and Alert Customization

FIG. 3 is a display diagram of a situational awareness dashboard 300(e.g., the display interface component 149 of FIG. 1) of thecustomizable situational awareness system 140 configured in accordancewith one embodiment of the disclosure. It should be understood that thedashboard 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 is merely a representative viewprovided for illustrative purposes and in other embodiments thedashboard 300 can include different features and/or the illustratedfeatures can have a different arrangement.

The dashboard 300 is a customized display panel that brings a set ofpreselected airline operational data together onto a single screen. Auser is able to view resources, assets, and weather information, andmanipulate this information to quickly and efficiently solve, forexample, a scheduled maintenance problem with minimal or no disruptionto the overall operation of the airline Examples of the information thatmay be overlaid on the dashboard 300, or a printout thereof, include(but are not limited to) flight following information (e.g., informationinforming the user of aircraft location), maintenance information(scheduled and unscheduled), areas in which weather can currently affectairline operation, airport operations which are currently a cause ofconcern, the status of the airline supply chain, and passenger (and/orcargo) loads. Such information is useful when attempting to planresource allocations. In addition, such a system view affords a user theability to drill down so that both internal and external information,such as alerts, can be quickly assessed, thus allowing the user to focuson solving any problems at hand. Furthermore, the information presentedby the dashboard 300 can be customized in a number of different ways toprovide users only with frequently used data and prevent users frombeing overloaded with unnecessary information.

The dashboard 300, for example, can include an aircraft identificationportion 310 that displays a number of different aircraft tail numbers.The dashboard 300 can be configured to display tail numbers, forexample, based on specific geographical regions, particular airlines, orother selected criteria. The user can also drill down (e.g., using a“mouseover” function and/or by right clicking one of the tail numbers inthe aircraft identification portion) and get additional informationabout a particular aircraft, such as aircraft ownership, aircraftmaintenance history, aircraft performance data, etc. The size of theinformation displayed on the dashboard 300 can also be adjusted todisplay a different number of tail numbers on the screen at one time.

The dashboard 300 also includes selected information about eachparticular aircraft (as identified by tail number 310). The informationcan assist a user in normal monitoring and planning conditions, and aidthe user in making informed disruption and recovery decisions when suchsituations occur. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, thedashboard 300 includes flight following information 320, maintenanceinformation 330, and alert notifications 340 for particular aircraft.The flight following information 320 can include flight information suchas dispatch release, passenger load, weather, and other selected flightinformation. The flight following information 320 is generallycorrelated with flight schedules, airport schedules, maintenanceschedules, and/or repair station schedules for each of the destinationsfor a particular aircraft.

The maintenance information 330 for a particular aircraft can includethe type of maintenance event (e.g., planned, scheduled, and/orunplanned), the type of maintenance work to be performed, theavailability of parts and/or tools for the particular maintenance event,and the personnel required for the event. The maintenance information330 can also include links to external OEM documentation for theaircraft (e.g., maintenance manuals, maintenance planning documents,fault isolation/repair manuals, etc.) In one particular example,maintenance planners are able to determine a likelihood for a specificaircraft to be serviced at one of its destinations by combining themaintenance information 330 with fault messages received from aparticular aircraft. By combining this scheduled information with realtime data, the user can determine appropriate buffers between scheduledevents and the feasibility of meeting necessary aircraft maintenanceschedules.

The alert notifications 340 provide the user with updated informationand messages regarding selected aircraft, maintenance facilities, andairport operations. The alert notifications 340 can include, forexample, messages about maintenance events, fightdiversions/cancellations, maintenance reports (MIREP), part(s)/tool(s)availability (IMM), etc. The user can receive alert messages via thedashboard 300 and/or a mobile device (not shown). On the dashboard 300illustrated in FIG. 3, for example, the user can receive alertnotifications 340 in a message portion 342 of the dashboard 300, as wellas proximate to or within the flight following information 320 for aparticular aircraft. The alert notifications 340 within the flightfollowing information 320 can be expanded by right clicking theparticular alert or by using the dashboard's “mouseover” functionalityto expand the corresponding alert notification (as shown in expandedarea 344).

The user can configure the dashboard 300 to filter out unnecessary orunwanted alert messages that would otherwise clutter the dashboard 300or the user's mobile device. For example, in one embodiment the user canfilter alert messages based on (a) message type, (b) alert category,and/or (c) alert priority. In other embodiments, the alert messages canbe filtered using other criteria (e.g., geographic region, airline,etc.)

In several embodiments, the dashboard 300 can also be configured toprovide past flight and maintenance events and information to the user.Such historical information can be used, for example, to determine thecause(s) of a delay or pinpoint supply chain problems. The historicalinformation can be accessible using an integrated search functionality(e.g., by tail number, date(s), geographical region, airline, eventtype, etc.). In other embodiments, the search function can have adifferent configuration.

The dashboard 300 can also serve as a gateway to external applications,document(s), Web sites, or systems (e.g., MEM, FIM, etc.) to which theuser would like to navigate for additional information or to perform anactivity. Accordingly, rather than duplicate such information, thedashboard 300 enables users to directly link to the original source.Furthermore, the user can quickly access such information directly fromthe dashboard 300 without having to exit the application or launch anumber of other external applications.

Another aspect of the dashboard 300 is the ability to integrateinformation from a plurality of independent aviation enterprise systemsand present the information to a system user in a manner dependent onwho the user is and preferences previously defined for the user. In oneparticular example, aircraft maintenance includes a plurality ofenterprise systems and flight operations includes a plurality ofenterprise systems each having its own information and related systems.While these sets of systems have related information, in the past theinformation was not joined together and presented to the user in amanageable arrangement for utilization. Users were required to reviewinformation from two or more systems separately and correlate theinformation on their own. The dashboard 300, however, provides themaintenance operations schedule integrated with a flight operationsschedule, thus providing an overall awareness of availability ofaircraft for scheduled maintenance and availability of maintenancefacilities and materiel for unscheduled aircraft maintenance needs.Continuing with this example, the dashboard 300 can integrate thescheduling portion of maintenance operations and flight operations(schedules) associated with specific airports at which a respectiveplane having a maintenance problem may be landing, and present theresults in real time. As mentioned previously, other aviation enterprisesystems that may be integrated with maintenance and flight schedulingsystems can include, but are not limited to, maintenance crew schedulingsystem, weather systems, air traffic control systems, systemsmaintaining data related to aircraft structural repairs, and systemscontaining documents regarding an aircraft's air worthiness.

One advantage of embodiments of the situational awareness system 100 andthe dashboard 300 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 isthat the system can present a wide variety of operational data in anintegrated way. The system 100 also can present different views of thedata associated with a situation, for example, related to aircraftdeparture, depending upon a respective user's profile. The dashboard 300can synthesize the data by filtering the information and presenting theinformation that is the most important (or relevant) to an individualuser. The information is presented in such a way that the data advisesthe respective user of a situation, thereby allowing the user toefficiently assess the situation and its potential impacts.

Another advantage of embodiments of the system 100 and dashboard 300describe above is that they can provide for informed real-time decisionmaking by all participants, thus expediting analysis and increasing adecision-making window for the system's participants. Additionally,resource and asset allocation can be optimized or otherwise improved forsome or all aircraft departures, thereby resulting in predictivesystem-wide disruption management and improvements in schedulereliability. Further, embodiments of the system 100 are expected toimprove management of an airline's resources by capturing measurabledata for later analysis and improvement, as well as optimizing or atleast improving gate and aircraft utilization. The system can empowerindividuals and encourage proactive decision-making. The system may alsobe configured to empower customers by providing current and accurateaircraft and gate situational awareness.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates the processing of thecustomization component 146 (FIG. 1) when the user customizes thedashboard in accordance with a particular embodiment. The customizationcomponent allows the user to customize his/her view (informationcontent, colors, and so forth) of the system based on a predefined listof available features. Each user may customize the dashboard separately.The users can also filter and prioritize which alerts and informationare important to them. In process portion 410, the component receives arequest from the user to view custom view options. For example, thedashboard may provide a button or menu item for customizing thedashboard. In process portion 420, the component displays a usercustomization user interface with available preference selections. Forexample, FIGS. 5A-5E illustrate one customization interface. In processportion 430, the component receives preference selections from the user.For example, the user may select checkboxes, items from lists, and soforth based on available options for customizing the dashboard. Inprocess portion 440, the component receives a request from the user tosave changes to the user's selections. For example, the user may selectan “OK” button in the displayed customization interface. In processportion 450, the component returns the user to the dashboard, which isdisplayed with the new preference selections. After process portion 450,this process concludes.

FIGS. 5A-5E are display diagrams that illustrate tabs of a userinterface for receiving customizations from a user in accordance with aparticular embodiment. The user interface 500 can include a row of tabs505 that organize the types of customizations by category. FIG. 5Aillustrates a zoom tab 510 that allows the user to select one of twoviews for the dashboard. A full zoom view shows detailed availableflight and maintenance information to the user, whereas a compact zoomview shows more summarized information. The zoom tab 510 containsinstructional text 512, a full zoom radio button 514, a full zoomillustration 515, a compact zoom radio button 516, and a compact zoomillustration 517. The instructional text 512 explains to the user how touse the configuration options. The full zoom radio button 514 allows theuser to select the full zoom view. The full zoom illustration 515displays an example to the user of how the dashboard will look if theuser selects the full zoom view. The compact zoom radio button 516allows the user to select the compact zoom view. The compact zoomillustration 517 displays an example to the user of how the dashboardwill look if the user selects the compact zoom view. The main purpose ofthe zoom tab 510 is to allow the user to select either of the two viewsfor the dashboard. When the user is finished making selections on eachtab, the user selects the “OK” button 590 to save the customizations.

FIG. 5B illustrates a representative time settings tab 520 that containsselections for viewing upcoming flight and maintenance events (e.g.,within the next 1-10 days), and prior flight and maintenance data (e.g.,within the past 12 hours to 2 days). The user can also select the timezone for the time showing in the top right corner of the dashboard. Thismay not affect flight and maintenance events, which may always be shownin Zulu or UTC time. The time settings tab 520 contains instructionaltext 522, a future events dropdown list 524, a past events dropdown list526, and a time zone dropdown list 528. The instructional text 522explains to the user how to use the configuration options. The futureevents dropdown list 524 allows the user to select the range of futureevents that the dashboard will display. The past events dropdown list526 allows the user to select the range of past events that thedashboard will display. The time zone dropdown list 528 allows the userto select the time zone for the time display of the dashboard.

FIG. 5C illustrates a representative events tab 530 that allows the userto control which type and status of events are shown in the dashboard.The operator may view combined flight and maintenance information,flight events only, maintenance events only, or only some of these, suchas flights by status (i.e., late or early). The events tab 530 containsinstructional text 532, event type radio buttons 534, and an eventstatus dropdown list 536. The instructional text 532 explains to theuser how to use the customization options. The event type radio buttons534 allow the user to select which types of events the system willdisplay in the dashboard. The event status dropdown list 536 allows theuser to filter events within the selected type based on variouscriteria.

FIG. 5D illustrates a representative tail numbers tab that providesrobust capabilities for the user to select tail numbers based onspecific regions and airlines and display them on the dashboard. Theinterface has a hierarchical flow: regions selected will populateairlines, and airlines selected will populate tail numbers. The tailnumbers tab 540 contains instructional text 542, a regions list 544, anairlines list 546, and a tail numbers table 548. The instructional text542 explains to the user how to use the customization options. Theregions list 544 allows the user to select one or more regionscontaining airplanes that the user may want to view in the dashboard.The user selects one or more regions by checking a checkbox next to eachregion. The airlines list 546 contains a list of airlines within theselected regions having airplanes that the user may want to view in thedashboard. The user selects one or more airlines by checking a checkboxnext to each airline. The tail numbers table 548 lists tail numbers thatidentify airplanes within the selected region and airline. The tailnumbers table 548 also offers the user a search box for searching for aspecific tail number in case the quantity of listed tail numbers islarge. The user selects tail numbers within the list 548 by checking acheckbox next to each tail number or selecting an “All” checkbox thatselects all tail numbers in the list 548.

FIG. 5E illustrates a representative alerts tab that allows the user toset the alerts for the dashboard and a mobile device in one convenientlocation. The settings for dashboard alerts and mobile alerts areseparated so that the user can make different alert customizations foreach. The alerts tab 550 contains instructional text 552, sub-tabs 554,a select all alerts checkbox 555, an alerts table 556, and an optionsfieldset 558. The instructional text 552 explains to the user how to usethe customization options. The sub-tabs 554 allow the user to selectwhether the user is currently customizing alerts for the dashboard orfor a mobile device. The select all alerts checkbox 555 allows the userto quickly indicate that the user wants to receive all alerts. Thealerts table 556 lists available types of alerts that the user canreceive. The user selects alerts within the alerts table 556 by checkinga checkbox next to each alert type. The options fieldset 558 receivesadditional filtering options for reducing the number of alerts that theuser receives. For example, the user can elect to receive only alertsfor selected regions and airlines. The user can also select the periodfor which the alerts are displayed (e.g., the last 24 hours).

Types of Customizations

The following tables list examples of types of user customizationsgrouped by category. This is not an exhaustive list, and those ofordinary skill in the art will recognize many other types ofcustomizations that can be provided by the system.

User Preferences—In order to prevent users from being overloaded withunnecessary information and to view only information which they usefrequently, users would like to customize their user experience whenusing the dashboard and receiving information on their mobile devices.Using the following settings, the user can customize many aspects of thedashboard and alerts sent to mobile devices

Customization Name Description User.Pref.sel.alert.msg.type.dashboardSets the type of alerts the user receives on their dashboard. The usercan select alert message types by individually selecting them, bycategory, or by priority. User.Pref.sel.alert.msg.data.dashboard Setsthe content of alerts the user receives on their dashboard by selectingfrom the list of regions or airlines to which the user has access.User.Pref.sel.alert.msg.type.mobile Sets the type alerts the userreceives on their mobile device by selecting alert message types byindividually selecting them, by category, or by priority.User.Pref.sel.alert.msg.data.mobile Sets the content of alerts the userreceives on their mobile device by selecting from the list of regions orairlines to which the user has access. User.Pref.sel.dashboard.tailsSets how many airplane tail numbers the user can view on their dashboardat one time. User.Pref.sel.dashboard.timezone Sets the user's preferredtime zone. User.Pref.sel.dashboard.hours.view Sets how many hours of theday the user can view on their dashboard at one time without having toscroll. User.Pref.sel.dashboard.hours.fwd/bwd Sets how many days orhours of the day the user can view ahead of or behind flight andmaintenance events on the dashboard. User.Pref.sel.airplane.view Setswhich regions, airlines, or tails to display.DD.alert.messages.user.prefs Sets the criteria that received alerts mustmeet to be sent to the user. The system only displays alert messagesthat meet the criteria based on categorization, priority, and airline.DD.alert.messages.default If no user preferences have been setup, thesystem displays alert messages based on a default set of customizations.This setting specifies the defaults. DD.dashboard.tails.user.pref Setsthe number of airplane tails displayed in the dashboard on one screen.DD.dashboard.tails.default Sets a default value for the number of tails.DD.dashboard.clocks The dashboard displays two time clocks. One is basedon UTC time and the other can be customized based on time zone.DD.Dashboard.Time Sets the time zone for the Gantt view.DD.Dashboard.Event.Time Sets the time zone for events.DD.Dashboard.Alert.Time Sets the time zone for alerts.DD.Dashboard.clock.custom Sets the time zone for the user clock.DD.dashboard.clock.custom.default Sets the default time zone for theuser clock. DD.dashboard.hours.screenview.user.pref Sets the preferredhour range of events displayed in the dashboard.DD.dashboard.hours.screenview.default Sets the default hour range.DD.dashboard.hours.fwdbwdview.user.pref Sets the user-preferred hour/dayrange on the dashboard. DD.dashboard.hours.fwdbwdview.default Sets thedefault hour/day range. DD.dashboard.airplaneview.user.pref Sets theuser-preferred airplane tail numbers to display on the dashboard.DD.dashboard.airplaneview.default Sets the default airplane tailnumbers.

Dashboard Maintenance Opportunities—A maintenance opportunity is aperiod of time where there is an opportunity to do maintenance on anairplane when no maintenance is already planned. This generally meansthat the airplane is on the ground and is available for a maintenancecrew to perform maintenance on the airplane. Maintenance planners arealways monitoring for potential maintenance opportunities. These userscan use the customizable situational awareness system to notify them ofpotential maintenance opportunities using a rules-based and decisionsupport system. In some embodiments, a maintenance opportunity isconsidered to be a time when an airplane is scheduled to be on theground for more than an hour during the day at an airport where there isan MRO repair station.

Customization Name Description DD.display.opportunity For airplanestails the user is monitoring in their dashboard, configures whether thesystem indicates available maintenance opportunities to the userDD.Mx.opportunity.rule Defines the rule for determining that amaintenance opportunity exists.

Maintenance Activity—Users monitoring maintenance events generally wouldlike to receive regular updates of the progress of the maintenance beingperformed, how much work has been completed compared to how much isstill left to do, whether maintenance is on time, and an estimate ofwhether the maintenance will complete on time, early or late. Inaddition, users would like to be notified if additional maintenance workis found and whether the work has been added to the maintenance event tobe fixed during the current maintenance or deferred to a later date. Insome embodiments, the system generates an alert if an event has occurredthat may potentially affect releasing the airplane on time (e.g., adelay because work is behind) and the delay code. This can be determinedby monitoring whether parts have arrived or whether additionalmaintenance has been discovered.

Customization Name Description DD.mx.event.progress Determines whetherthe system displays the progress of a maintenance event in work.DD.mx.event.progress.rule Determines the rules for determiningmaintenance progress. DD.mx.delay.notes.write Receives notes from theuser related to the maintenance event. DD.mx.delay.notes.write.stampedStamps notes from the user with the user's name and the time when thenote was written. DD.mx.delay.notes.write.nodelete Determines whetherthe user can delete existing notes or only add notes.DD.mx.delay.notes.read Determines whether the user has permission toread notes associated with a maintenance event.

Audit History—Certain users often need to review and analyze historicalflight and maintenance event information to determine the root cause ofdisruptions. The system stores planned and actual times for flight legsand maintenance events for up to a certain period (e.g., 30 days). Thesystem may also store alert messages for those events for the sameperiod. Users can review these historical events and alerts messagesusing the dashboard and alert message box. Users can filter events usingthe already available filters (e.g., airplane and event filters)including a time period and event filter. In addition, the user canfilter alert messages to view only a particular flight leg event,maintenance event or tail number. In some embodiments, the userinterface replays historical events in the sequence in which the eventsoccurred.

Customization Name Description DD.event.historical.view Determines theperiod over which prior events are displayed in the dashboard.DD.event.delay.code.update.store Determines the period for storing delaycodes of past events. DD.event.delay.code.alertmsg Determines the periodover which to display an alert message based on prior events.DD.event.alertmsg.display Determines the period over which the user canview alert messages for prior events.

Mobile Devices—Users can receive alert messages from the system on aspecified mobile device. Wireless devices allow people who aredecision-makers and participants across the worldwide-extendedenterprise to be at any location while remaining connected to flightoperations. MRO and maintenance planners can be alerted to changingconditions immediately and access the relevant information to supportdecision-making while on the go. Users can configure which alertmessages they would like to receive on their mobile device. In someembodiments, users specify an email address to which alerts should besent. The email address may be associated with a typical email account,a short message service (SMS) number for a phone, or other device orsystem capable of receiving messages addressed like email.

Customization Name Description MD.display.alert.messages.user.prefsDetermines the criteria of alert messages that the user has elected toreceive based on categorization, priority, and airline.MD.display.alert.messages.default Determines the default alert criteria.MD.send.alert.email Specifies the email address of the user's mobiledevice for receiving alert messages.

Types of Alerts

Users can customize which alert messages they receive through thedashboard or via mobile device based on an alert message category andpriority. Allowing users to select which alert messages they receivefilters out unnecessary messages that would otherwise clutter thedashboard or notifications on their mobile device. The user can selectwhich alert messages they would like to receive by selecting individualalert message types, entire alert categories, or by alert priority.Users can also control alerts by choosing the region(s) or airline(s)for which they wish to receive messages.

The following table is a list of example alert messages that can bereceived from an external system or generated internally. The followinglist is merely illustrative of a representative embodiment, and otherpriorities may be established for the listed alerts in otherembodiments.

Source of Alert Message (Internal - generated internally using businessrules, External - Alert Name Category Priority received from an externalsystem) Maintenance Event invalidated by Maintenance High Externalprevious Flight Leg Unscheduled Maintenance Event Maintenance MedExternal created Planned Maintenance Event Updated Maintenance MedExternal which will or was to occur within the next 24 hours AMaintenance Event Cancelled Maintenance Med External which will occurwithin the next 24 (IMM Coordinator could hours consider this Med,Planner consider it Low). Also staffing notification Estimated start ofMaintenance Maintenance Low (LATE is considered External Event will bestarted Late 60 min past scheduled start time) Maintenance Event notstarted On- Maintenance Low (60 min) Internal Time Update received toMaintenance Maintenance High External Event currently in progresschanging the Planned End Time Update received to Maintenance MaintenanceLow External Event currently in progress, giving an Estimated Completiontime which would be Earlier than planned Update received to MaintenanceMaintenance High External Event currently in progress, giving anEstimated Completion time later than planned Maintenance Event not EndedOn- Maintenance High (15 min rule applies) External Time Mx Opportunity(don't alert) Maintenance High External MIREP Maintenance Med ExternalPIREP Maintenance Med External IMM Alert - Parts or Tools for aMaintenance High External Maintenance Event are not available Tail SwapFlight High External Flight Leg Cancelled Flight Med External Flight Legnot started on- Time Flight Med External Return to Gate/Ramp Flight HighExternal Air Turnback (Flight Return) Flight High External FlightDiversion Flight High External Flight Deck Effects Flight High External

During a maintenance event, if a mechanic notices additional maintenancework that can or should be done the mechanic will create a maintenancereport. Once this maintenance report has been created, an alert is sentto the dashboard using the Maintenance Report (MIREP) category. Thealert contains information such as the maintenance event in which theMIREP was created, the airplane tail number, and a description of theadditional work to be done. This alert is sent prior to a fix/deferdecision being made.

If a part or tool allocated to a scheduled maintenance event that is tooccur within the next 24 hours becomes unavailable for that maintenanceevent, the system generates an IMM Alert (parts/tools unavailable) alertwith the Bill of Work (BOW) ID, description of the tool or part, andtool or part ID.

If during aircraft health monitoring the aircraft manufacturer receivesan alert, then the alert can be forwarded to the dashboard as a FlightDeck Effect alert with the airplane fail number, flight number, time ofthe fault, fault code, and a fault description.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that illustrates the process performed by thealert component when new alert data is received in accordance with aparticular embodiment. Before the alert is received, the user hasalready stored a mobile messaging device identifier (e.g., an emailaddress) with the system. In process portion 610, the component receivesnew alert data. For example, the alert data may specify that a flighthas been delayed or other situational awareness information relevant tothe user. In process portion, 620, the component identifies the usersthat have requested to receive this type of alert data. In processportion, 630, the system selects the first identified user. In processportion 640, the system determines whether the selected user's storedpreferences indicate that the user wants to receive this type of alertdata. In some embodiments, the component may also determine whether theuser has sufficient permission to receive the alert data. In decisionprocess portion 650, if the user's preferences indicate that the userwants to receive this type of alert data, then the component continuesat process portion 660, else the component continues at process portion670. In process portion 660, the component sends an alert messagerelated to the alert data to the user's mobile device. In decisionprocess portion 670, if there are more users, then the component loopsto process portion 630 to select the next user, else the componentcompletes.

Links to External Systems

There are external applications and documents that contain additionalfunctionality and information that could assist the user in managingmaintenance and disruptions. In particular embodiments, rather thanhaving to exit the dashboard to view the external documentation andapplications, the users can have direct access to these external sourcesfrom within the application, directly from the particular event oralert. For example, if a maintenance worker uses the system to determinewhen an aircraft is available for maintenance, the system may provideuseful links to parts diagrams, maintenance articles, and so forth.

Embodiments of the customizable situational awareness system are used tomonitor and alert users to potential disruptions to their plannedschedule or events that have affected their planned schedule. The systemcan also assist maintenance planners in planning maintenance work to becompleted (e.g., in the next 10 days). The system may provide limitedinformation when alerting users to situations. Other externalapplications, websites, and documentation can provide more extensiveinformation about situations and disruptions that do occur. Depending onthe type of situation and the role of the user, the user can jumpdirectly from the customizable situational awareness system to theexternal application, document, or website that can give them additionalinformation to better understand the situation or to perform anactivity.

In addition to providing users with more information in particular(e.g., time-sensitive) situations, there is external information undernormal monitoring conditions to which users can link to learn more aboutairplanes, flights, maintenance events, and so on. Below is a list ofinformation that can assist a user in normal monitoring and planningconditions, and aid the user to make better disruption and recoverydecisions when situations occur. Events or other elements of thedashboard may link to these types of information.

Information Type Examples Maintenance Event Information Type ofMaintenance Event - Planned, Planned and Scheduled, Unplanned andScheduled The type of maintenance work to be performed Parts and Toolsallocated and availability Personnel Resources required and allocatedHangar or Line Space allocated Field Trip Form to send a MaintenancePerson to an off-site location to effect repairs Airplane InformationAirplane Ownership and Leaser Airplane Configuration Maintenance History--Planned and Forecasted Maintenance Deferrals, CDL, MEL EngineInformation AOG Requirements Landing Category Performance RestrictionsAirplane Performance By Tail By Industry Class of airplane (model,engine type, configuration etc) Flight Information Dispatch Release -Airline System of Record (includes Passenger Record) Weather of FlightLeg -- at departing airport, arrival airport and enroute Flight DeckEffects Tail Swap Reason MRO & Repair Station Information ContactInformation -names, numbers, email addresses and duty roster MaintenancePersonnel Resources - Skills and Availability Hangar Bay AvailabilityPlanned and Forecasted Maintenance for that Repair Station Parts andTools on hand for a MRO Repair Station Airline (AOC) Information ContactInformation --names, numbers, email addresses and duty rosterCommunication Plan OEM Documentation for Airplane Airplane MaintenanceManual (AMM) Maintenance Planning Document (MPD) Fault Isolation Manual(FIM) Fault Repair Manual (FRM) Configuration Deviation List (CDL)Minimum Equipment List (MEL) General Maintenance Manual (GMM) ServiceBulletins (SBs) Airworthiness Directive (ADs) Airplane Flight Manual(AFM) Airport Contact Information -names, numbers, email addresses

CONCLUSION

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments ofthe customizable situational awareness system have been described hereinfor purposes of illustration, but that various modifications may be madein other embodiments. Although aircraft situational awareness systemshave been described, the system can be used in other environments wheresituational awareness data is useful. For example, a packing andshipping facility could use the system to monitor the location ofpackages, forklifts, and other resources. Similarly, a governmenttransportation department could use the system to monitor traffic andplan freeway flow and availability. Further, while advantages associatedwith certain embodiments have been described in the context of thoseembodiments, other embodiments may also exhibit such advantages, and notall embodiments need necessarily exhibit such advantages to fall withinthe scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure can includeother embodiments not shown or described above.

I claim:
 1. A computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructionsfor controlling a computer system to receive customizations to adisplayable view of aircraft situational awareness data, by a methodcomprising: receiving a request from a user to view customizationoptions for customizing the displayable view of the aircraft situationalawareness data; displaying a customization user interface having optionsfor configuring the display of at least flight events, maintenanceevents, and alert messages; receiving one or more preference selectionsfrom the user based on the displayed options; storing the preferenceselections received from the user in a nonvolatile storage device; anddisplaying a situational awareness user interface based on the storedpreference selections of the user.
 2. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 1 wherein displaying a situational awareness user interfacecomprises displaying the user interface through a web portal containingaircraft information related to the situational awareness data.
 3. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein receiving one or morepreference selections comprises receiving a time range of events todisplay in the situational awareness user interface.
 4. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein receiving one or morepreference selections comprises receiving a selection of event types todisplay in the situational awareness user interface.
 5. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein receiving one or morepreference selections comprises receiving a selection of tail numbers todisplay in the situational awareness user interface.